Thursday, October 07, 1999NFL picks Houston for 32nd franchise
The NFL is returning to Houston, spurning a larger market in Los Angeles for an expansion record $700 million.
The NFL's owners approved Houston as the site for the league's 32nd team, bringing football back to a city that lost the Oilers in 1996 to Nashville, Tenn. The new team will begin play in 2002.
The $700 million franchise fee is the most ever for an expansion team in the U.S.
The Houston team — which will be named later — will play in the NFL's American Football Conference under a realignment that will create eight divisions of four teams each. Currently there are three divisions in each conference. The plan will require one team in the AFC to move to the NFC.
Team owner Bob McNair plans a $310 million retractable roof stadium on county property adjacent to the Astrodome.
While the NFL continued to give Los Angeles more time to come up with a suitable plan, McNair kept sweetening the pot.
In March, he guaranteed sellouts for the first five years of the franchise. McNair said he would devise a system to give to charity any tickets not sold by the blackout deadline. NFL rules dictate that if a game is not sold out 72 hours before kickoff, it cannot be televised within 75 miles.
He thinks he made a good deal.
“This is an opportunity to put Houston back on the map,” McNair said. “It is my hometown and I like to see the spotlight on Houston. We've got a great sports market in Houston. It's a big investment, but we're going to have a wonderful stadium and even a Super Bowl.”
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